


Long Awaited Reunions

by CaptainDeryn



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Fluff, Gen, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22577464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainDeryn/pseuds/CaptainDeryn
Summary: Seven years ago, Terrance received the news that his old master Idan Lumielle was imprisoned. Not long after that, news reached him that his Master had been killed within the prison walls. Refusing to believe it, but with nothing except an intuition to prove otherwise, Terrance held firm that Idan was not dead.After seven years he receives a call from Petra Lumielle that Idan is alive and they're finally reunited on Odessen.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Long Awaited Reunions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lumielles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumielles/gifts).



Feeling lives in the Force was a tricky thing. It wasn’t as though you felt each person as their whole, only as the strength of their will and the conviction of which they lived. If you were close enough to form a bond, or attuned enough to the ebb and flow of the Force around you, you could begin to feel the emotions bleeding from those around you. 

Terrance had always been painfully attuned to the Force, always desperate to see where his eyes had failed him. He would feel millions—billions—of lives like a crushing wave on Coruscant, or break entirely when those millions of lives were snuffed all at once like a candle being blown out. He had found himself almost as familiar with his Master, Idan Lumielles' presence as his own in the course of his padawanship. 

It had been a long time since Terrance had been on a planet like Odessen and when his ship finally landed the planet’s environment was enough to hitch his breath. Light and darkness warred against each other in the give-and-take of balance. Opposite presences in the Force battered into each other—the seething _feeling_ that Terrance had always known as Sith, and the strictly stifled, simmering presence that he had grown up with that could only be the Jedi. And there were _hundreds_ all clamoring all at once, demanding their own space and feeding into Terrance’s sense until he felt like his head would explode. 

Gripping the control panel in front of him, feeling the cool metal beneath his fingers until it bit into his skin, he took a deep breath. Then one. Then two. Carefully he cast about, like a fisherman throwing a line into an ocean, for the one presence he was here for. The task and concentration was enough to calm his skittering heart, slow his breathing, and give him focus. 

Still, he couldn’t find his Master’s presence. Though the thought alone was enough to awaken the nightly fear that he had only imagined Idan still being alive, he clung to what Petra had told him the night before over the holo: Idan was...different since he’d been taken from the depths of the Republic’s prison. It would take time to reconcile what he would find, and what he had always known. 

Even after he’d landed his ship it was a few moments before he could steel his nerve enough to lower the ramp and walk outside. Petra was there to meet him with a warm greeting, though her voice sounded worn thin. Exhausted, even. 

Her hand was light on his shoulder, as she guided him deeper into the hangar. The space was horribly open, a large room with nothing in it except for his own ship, some smaller shuttles, and a smattering of presences around him. He already felt the tell-tale speeding up of his heart that came with such uncontrolled emptiness and strangeness. Terrance clutched the box he was holding, tighter to his chest, digging his knuckles against the wood. Her hand tightened around his bicep, grounding him, and he took a deep breath. 

“He’s right over here.” she murmured, and Terrance gave a little nod as if that was supposed to mean something to him, when really _over here_ was a string of vague concepts.

He cast around the people around them for something familiar. ‘Over here’ didn’t make any sense when he was coming up short, unable to find anything familiar to grasp onto. Confusion and frustration reared up in him until he heard a voice through the din of the hangar. His head cast around to find the source, zeroing in on the sound of his Master’s voice.

“Terrance? Is that you?” Idan’s voice was rough, like it had been underused--or perhaps overused--rattling with exhaustion. 

“ _Master_?” Terrance’s own voice broke, casting around for Idan’s force presence. The shape in front of him was formless, shadowed and cracked. 

There was the patter of footsteps, the shadow scooting closer.

Idan’s arms found Terrance’s gripping them like a lifeline before Terrance wrapped his arms around him in kind. His master was fragile beneath him, the bones of his shoulders poking out like knives, his back knobby as Terrance tightened his hold as much as he dared. 

He wanted the familiarity he had always known, the warmth and strength he had relied on for years as a padawan, and unthinkingly he opened his own sense in the Force to try and find it. Removing all stops, he was thrust into the mired depths of his and Idan’s Force bond that had been cut off and dormant for years. 

He was thrown into what felt like a dark room, the feelings flowing between their bond like the shards of a broken mirror. The shards reflected the inky shadows, the darkness, back at Terrance. It was dark, _so dark_ , broken and thinly held together by fraying threads. 

Terrance gasped, a ragged, hiccuping sob breaking from him, and his hands tightened, the fabric of Idan’s sweater twisting around his fingers. That wasn’t right, it felt like a stranger, a strange twisted shadow of the warm familiarity he could feel lurking far below the surface. 

Voice impossibly small, he asked, “Master Lumielle?” 

“It’s me.” Idan’s hand rubbed between Terrance’s shoulder blades. Emotion thickened his voice. Only one thought was raging in Terrance’s mind, indignation roiling together with aching pain.

“They tried to tell me you were dead.” Idan’s grip on Terrance faltered as a shudder went through his Master. 

“I’m sorry, Terrance.” He croaked, brittle to the point of breaking. Terrance’s heart dropped to his feet, shattering on the ground. His world was falling out from underneath him. The situation unfolding around him was a sick paradigm shift in the dynamic he had known. 

Idan’s shoulders were shaking beneath his hands, breaths sharp and heavy in the air hanging around them. Terrance could feel tears against his shoulder, his own emotion boiling over in great shuddering breaths that he tried to calm. He had to pull it together. 

When had he become the one to comfort? The strong one?

Years’ worth of words were bubbling in his chest, spilling out without a dam to stop them. He needed to make it _known_. He needed Idan to know that he hadn’t been forgotten in those seven long years. “I didn’t believe them. I kept looking.” 

He had, hadn’t he? He’d fought the Council until they were a hair's breadth away from pushing him from the Order altogether, or worse, shunting him to the Sixth Line. He’d seen what had become of the Sixth Line Jedi after the events of Ziost; he’d no intent to join their hollow-eyed ranks. 

And yet, Idan had been right under his nose, under Saresh’s thumb and hidden behind Satele’s carefully guarded words. 

His simmering emotions must have spilled over into their Force bond because Idan stepped back from Terrance. His thin hands planted on Terrance’s shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze despite the stern conviction in his voice. “I know you did. I’m just glad to see you here now.” 

Hands smoothing over Terrance’s shoulders, Idan gave a wry little chuckle. “You’ve grown out of the gangly Knight I left behind.” 

“I don’t think so,” Terrance tried for a light, humorous scoff, but it fell flat. “I try to be but…” 

Before he could finish the thought, Idan crushed him in a hug again, cutting off any space to argue. “You _are_.” he said firmly. With no room to question him, Terrance instead sank into the hug. The material of his sweater was soft against Terrance’s face. He could’ve sunk into this careful familiarity, this in-between of what had happened, what was happening, and what would happen. 

Indeed, they stayed like this for another few beats before Terrance took a shaky breath and stepped back. “I have something for you.” 

For a moment he paused, trying to orientate himself in the space and remember where he had put the box down. He tried to remember the number of steps that he had taken with Petra from his ship and then to Idan, finding only a rough number sticking in his mind. Even with his best guess, his shins still ran into a stack of boxes, his hands searching the top. His palms hit the smooth wood of the box he’d placed there and he picked it up. 

The box was heavy in Terrance’s arms. He extended it out to Idan. “I don’t remember how it’s organized. But...I’ve been finding teas that I think you’d like. From all the little bazaars and markets I’ve been to...ah…” he let his explanation fade off in a small, uncertain hum. It felt childish now that he was holding out a box heavy with the jars and bags. Seven years was a long time to collect tea for what might’ve been a hopeless cause. 

The weight disappeared from his arms as Idan took the box from him. He heard the click of the clasp coming undone, the soft _thump_ of the lid opening. Terrance held his breath. 

“Oh _Terrance_.” Idan’s laugh was watery and Terrance let out the breath he was holding, releasing around the lump in his throat. His Master’s dry witted tone was almost normal, “Thank you--the tea here is simply _horrible_.” 

“That’s not the only thing I have for you.” Terrance managed to say, hearing Idan ruffling through the various contents of the boxes. The combined scents of all the teas were nearly overpowering, threatening to make him sneeze. He needed to step away before he buckled to emotion again. “I’ll be right back.” 

Not for the first time he thanked the stars that the hangar was mostly empty. A few scattered presences in the Force was easier to rifle through than the chaos he felt itching the corner of his mind outside the hangar’s walls. With the relative quiet he could find the thrumming life he was searching for and latched onto it. He let the attachment guide him back to the ship with slow, if confident steps. 

On his ship, he was just a matter of finding his elusive friend; Petunia the Spooky Ghost Cat—Petunia as Idan had always called her, and Spooky as Terrance had called her since the start—had a habit of finding the most comfortable crevices in the ship to hide in. 

Today she seemed to sense that something was different. The ramp closed behind him with a click and almost immediately he was assaulted with the loud, opinionated cries of the cat herself. His robes rustled around his feet as she twined herself around his legs, nearly tripping him. She was insistent in making herself obvious and known.

“Alright, alright, I’ve got someone you want to see.” Terrance muttered, leaning down to feel around for Spooky. His hand brushed across her back, fur soft beneath his hands, and he slipped his arm around her middle. Scooping her into his arms, he smiled as she butted her head under his chin. “Behave yourself, okay?” 

Spooky’s paws began kneading against his shoulder, a soft purr starting to shake her frame. Terrance stroked his hand over her head before tucking her in the crook of his arm. 

Finding Idan now was far easier than it had been at first, now that he could pinpoint his presence and could follow it back like a trail of breadcrumbs. 

Idan gasped as Terrance got closer, the swish of clothes pronounced as he held out his arms. 

“Oh Petunia!” He swept the cat into his arms, and Terrance could hear a rumbling purr starting in Petunia. Elation surged in the bond between him and his Master as Idan cooed at the cat they’d found together. “How I’ve missed you lovely girl, have you been good?” 

Tucking his arms around himself with a smile, Terrance said, “She’s been nothing but an angel these past few y-years.” he choked on the timestamp, still unable to believe it had been that long. His hand crept up, rubbing across the back of his neck. “I’ve tried to keep her well.” 

Petunia was definitely purring, deep pleasant sound rumbling rumbling from her chest. Ever since Idan had taken back the cat, his presence had calmed, like the rough tide of a storm easing away. Without even realizing he had been holding tension, the tautness went out of Terrance’s shoulders, a wispy breath rushing out of him. 

It had been a welcome company to have a cat on board the ship. But it was a pain to keep Petunia from escaping the ship when inspections were done or meetings were to be held, and really what business did a wartime Jedi have owning a cat? 

“I want you to keep her here.” Surprise colored bright through their bond, and Terance waved away any forming protest. “She belongs with you.” 

“I can’t...I dont.” Idan took a breath, filled with more weariness than a single life-giving breaths shoulder. “Thank you.” 

Spooky had always attached herself to Idan, even if Terrance had been the one to practically beg to keep her. It was only fitting that she returned to Idan, and besides, she could do more good here than she could keeping Terrance company. “Petunia-Spooky belongs here.” 

Idan’s chuckle was soft, but it still sent a rush of happiness through him. “You still insist that she’s Spooky, hm?” 

“Always.” Terrance said with a grin, earning him another small chuckle. 

Footsteps approached behind them, and Terrance turned his head, muscles tensing. But it was just Petra, padding up behind them. 

“How’s it going?” He got the tense that Petra was looking between them, taking in more than he probably guessed, and when neither of them offered a negative response he heard the smile in her voice. “Good! But Idan, you’re looking worn—maybe we should take a break for now?” 

Terrance felt like a small padawan again, being ushered out of a room after his time was up. But the exhaustion was sitting around them now that he was aware of it, dull and grey as low hanging clouds. It would be better if he did step away for now; there was still a lot to process, he could feel thoughts and emotions building in the back of his mind like an incoming storm. 

“You’ll still be here?” Idan asked, breaking through Terrance’s haze with the note of worry in his voice. Without missing a beat—even if he had been leaving tonight, would he still have had the strength to leave? His family was here after all; he’d finally found his family again.—he nodded. 

“I’m staying at least a few days to refuel and of course the Council wants me to gather information for them.” The official excuses rolled off his tongue, the real reason he’d scheduled in a few extra days staying stuck in his throat.

Casting around until his hand found Idan’s shoulder, he gave a gentle squeeze, “And...I want to catch up. Please.” 

Idan’s relief was palpable enough to Terrance that he felt his chest beginning to tighten again. He wouldn’t cry again, not right now. He’d keep it together for his Master. 

Idan’s hand laid over his with equal gentleness, cold and bony. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.” 


End file.
